Monday, April 12, 2010

“[A] seer is greater than a prophet”?

After learning of the Jaredite 24 gold plates found by King Limhi’s people, Ammon indicated that King Mosiah had a gift from God that allowed him to “look, and translate all records that are of ancient date” (Mosiah 8:13). In brief, the gift allowed its possessor to use the Nephite interpreters, “[a]nd whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer” (Id.)(emphasis added). Upon hearing this, King Limhi concluded that “a seer is greater than a prophet” (Mosiah 8:15). Without correcting Limhi’s statement, Ammon expanded on this conclusion and taught that “a seer is a revelator and a prophet also” (Mosiah 8:16).

While we semi-annually sustain all our general authorities in the Quorum of the 12 and the First Presidency as prophets, seers, and revelators (see D&C 21:1), is the calling of a seer greater than that of a prophet?

The word “prophet” as found in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew nabiy, the verbal root of which means to “bubble” or “spring forth.” Used as a noun, however, nabiy means one in whom the message of God springs forth, or in other words, a “speaker” or “spokesman” for God, or “one who is called.” In short, a prophet is one who is commissioned by God to make known his will.

In contrast, the word “seer” as found in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew ro’eh, meaning “one who sees,” and contextually carries the idea of one who sees that which is hidden to others. For example, Enoch “beheld also things which were not visible to the natural eye; and from thenceforth came the saying abroad in the land: A seer hath the Lord raised up unto his people” (Moses 6:36). In the Old Testament, a prophet was oftentimes characterized as a seer, without any differentiation between the two terms (see 1 Sam. 9:9).

Contrary to popular belief, a prophet is not necessarily one who prophesies, or foretells the future. Instead, one can be a prophet without doing so, since the role of a prophet is simply to declare the word of God by the authority of the Holy Ghost. To call a man a prophet merely emphasizes his role in declaring the word of God, whereas to call him a seer emphasizes the manner in which that word is received.

Consequently, King Limhi was most likely correct in postulating that a seer is greater than a prophet, since all seers are prophets but not all prophets are seers. Elder John A. Widtsoe provided an impressive definition of a seer:

“A seer is one who sees with spiritual eyes. He perceives the meaning of that which seems obscure to others; therefore he is an interpreter and clarifier of eternal truth. He foresees the future from the past and the present. This he does by the power of the Lord operating through him directly, or indirectly with the aid of divine instruments such as the Urim and Thummim. In short, he is one who sees, who walks in the Lord’s light with open eyes” (Evidences and Reconciliations, p. 528)(emphasis added).

Donna Nielsen has some great comments about stones on her blog that are very applicable to this post. In the JST, Peter is called Cephas, a stone, or a seer. Which reminded me of her posts about stones. Thought you might be interested. Do a search for "stones" at Connections.

Prophecy is linked with foretelling the future, although it is hard to see how.

Revelation says that "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." This kind of prophecy occurs in conference often.

Testimony of other principles of the gospel is gained by doing the will of the Lord. "If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."

Further, when we are obedient to any law of God, we receive a blessing for it.

So, when we keep a commandment, we receive both a blessing for it, and a testimony of that commandment. We see the consequences of it.

With enough study of, experience with, and diligence in keeping the commandments, we can begin to know what the results will be ahead of time. This is also part of prophecy. In conference, this happens when we hear our leaders telling us the blessings we will receive if we act in the righteous ways that they outline for us. President Erying in particular gives many prophecies in the form of promises using the language of "You will..."

Since I wrote and posted this blogpost we changed the layout of the blog site. Unfortunately, I used yellow highlighting for most of my previous posts and the white background doesn't provide a strong enough contrast to be able to read the text. I've gone back and changed the yellow in some of the posts to blue, but haven't gotten to all of them yet.

Oh Squiggly Line

Oh squiggly line in my eye fluid;I see you there lurking on the periphery of my vision.But when I try to look at you, you scurry away.Are you shy, squiggly line?Why only when I ignore you, do you return to the center of my eye?Oh squiggly line! It’s alright; you are forgiven.